Of course the goal here is that the combined strength of Microsoft and Yahoo! would then allow them to take on Google head-to-head.

The Wall Street Journal said executives of the two companies are looking at a merger or some other kind of matchup and said the talks appear to be early-stage discussions. It said the companies explored the idea of combining last year but the talks led nowhere.

The Post story said Microsoft and Yahoo have held informal talks over the years and said Microsoft’s latest approach to Yahoo signals increased urgency.

Interesting, The Wall Street Journal is reporting the news as merger talks between the two companies, instead of an outright purchase by Microsoft. Let’s see how their respective PR machines end up spinning all of this.